Strobes!!! Help needed!

tropico

I really need a studio kit since the winter is coming and I want to keep taking portraits also during the winter season.
Right now my budget is limited, and therefore I wonder if a set with three 200W strobes will be good enought to get the job done.

It will be portraits mainly of kids and babies. I will set up a small studio in my apartment, using one part of my livingroom for this. So not a huge space.

I am thinking of this one: http://www.fotoexperten.no/studiokit/visico-200w-studiokit/ve-200-valued-kit

Do you think this will be enough light?
Or should I pay twice as much and get this one, that is 600W?

http://www.fotoexperten.no/studiokit/visico-600w-studiokit/vc-300lr-total-kit-p-783

What do you guys think? Anyone have any examples shot with 200W?

InsuredDisaster

I'm not an expert, but I've got some half decent portraits with speedlights set on minimum power in my apartment. It is my understanding that if the ambient is really low, you won't need that much power.

On the other hand, outside, shooting into the sun, even with a subect just a few feet away, I've had to mount 4 speedlights on full power to light the guy. So how bright is your apartment?

But I don't have any idea of what I'm talking about, so you should probably ignore me.

Art Scott

You should buy all the POWER you can afford...meaning if 200w's is all you can afford then that is where to start but you need at least 2 and 4 would be much better.
I bought 4 right out of the starting gate and have not regretted it since (about 25yrs)........I will be upgrading in the future to at least 800 - 3200 W.....
more power = more control.....you can always reduce the power of a light but you cannot get any more power out of a light than its max rating.......and modifiers cut into your power
a lot.......

Yes studio work can be and has been done with hot shoe flashes and done quite well......they are portable and battery powered, so it is easy to shoot indoors or outdoors with them.....

Another item you should have is a lightmerter: an incident flash meter....if it measures both ambient and flash all the better.

Strobists is a good blog and well worth the read........................